Man taken into custody after 13-hour standoff with police

Police have taken into custody a man who had barricaded himself inside a house on Renfrew Avenue in Adrian.

By David Frownfelder, Mark Lenz and Erik GableDaily Telegram staff

A 13-hour standoff ended quietly Saturday afternoon as authorities arrested an Adrian man who police said fired a shot and barricaded himself in his Renfrew Avenue house.

The man was taken into custody at about 3:30 p.m. Police did not identify him pending charges, but information from relatives, combined with property and other public records, indicate he is Shawn Gauss, 37.

Members of the Michigan State Police Emergency Services tactical team entered the house after sending in bomb squad robots.

"We used a robot to locate the subject, who was down in the basement," said 1st Lt. Tony Cuevas of the Monroe post of the Michigan State Police. "He was incoherent. After we got some video evidence of his condition we were able to send in our canine. The dog ended up going down there. The subject did come to, and started to move.

"At that time we knew it was a good opportunity to go in there and take the subject into custody."

(Story continues below the video.)

The standoff began around 2:30 a.m. when Adrian police received a report of a suicidal man at the house at 106 Renfrew Ave., just east of the Adrian College tennis court complex and west of Canterbury Street.

Adrian police entered the house at that time but reported that the suspect, who was in the basement, fired a gunshot and they withdrew. They had been talking to him from the first floor when they heard the shot.

Authorities said that, based on conversations with family members, they believed the suspect was armed with an SKS rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun.

Authorities said there were no other people in the house during the standoff. As of the end of the incident, they had not had contact with him for several hours.

"He was taken into custody to be taken to the hospital for evaluation," Adrian Police Sgt. Randy Spence reported, adding that as-yet undetermined criminal charges will be filed.

Chad Gauss, the suspect's oldest brother, said the incident stemmed from a relationship dispute with a woman. He and other family members hugged each other on a sidewalk a block away from the house and expressed relief when the arrest was announced.

"I'm glad it's over. I'm glad my little brother is going to breathe," Chad Gauss said. "He wasn't using his brain on that one, but now he's going to get some help. Like I told him last week when he was coming to me about it. I told him he needed to get help. I'm not trained for that.

"He may be in a padded cell for a while, but he's going to live."

Greg Gauss, another older brother of the suspect, echoed that sentiment.

"I'm happy he's alive," he said.

Family members said he and the woman had been together about 10 years and had a child together.

Authorities reported they believed the suspect had been taking medication and drinking.

Police had stopped traffic into the neighborhood at the intersection of Argyle Avenue and Canterbury Street during the standoff.

"I came home at about 3 a.m. and noticed there were about 14 cop cars on the street," said neighbor Noah Laws, who lives next door at 1450 Inverness Ave. "And after that, they barricaded the street."

Police also went door-to-door, notifying residents of the situation and giving them an opportunity to leave, witnesses reported.

Susie Perez, who lives nearby on Canterbury Street, said police came to her house to notify her around 5:30 or 6 a.m.

"The dog woke me up because they knocked at the door," she said.

Perez went to her granddaughter's house after police told her what was going on.

State police arrived with an armored vehicle and their tactical team. They used loudspeakers, urging him to put down his weapon and come out, saying "You will not be harmed." Prior to noon, they fired canisters of tear gas and "chemical munitions" into the home but the suspect did not come out.

Later, a small robot used by the bomb squad was sent into the house for surveillance.

Authorities reported it was shot and damaged by the suspect, and a larger robot was sent in later.

Officials at nearby Adrian College monitored the situation, and decided to move a men's lacrosse match that had been scheduled at a nearby field to Olivet College instead.

Cuevas said he was pleased with the standoff's outcome and the decision to wait for a surrender.

"When you're dealing with a situation like this, time is really on your side," Cuevas said. "We would have waited it out until we'd had some type of proof or some type of urgent reason to go inside the residence. That's why it took so long.

"We were able to mobilize some really nice equipment from the bomb squad, etc., that gave us a nice picture into the residence. I'm convinced that's why this incident ended the way it did."

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